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Continuing Education and Professional Development

Continuing Education Requirements

All licensed pharmacists in Pennsylvania must demonstrate that they have taken 30 credit hours of pharmacy continuing education during a two-year period. The two-year period ends on September 30 in even numbered years. License renewal is available on-line.

Continuing education credits must be obtained from approved ACPE (Accreditation Council of Pharmacy Education) providers. The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association is approved by the Accreditation Council of Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of Continuing Pharmacy Education. Provider Number: 0159.

For special recertification requirements for other states, click here.

Opioid Addiction

Of the 30 hours of CE credit required to renew, two of those hours must relate to pain management, the identification of addiction, and/or the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids.

Identifying opioid addiction CE credits: Activities that meet this requirement will have one or more key words like "pain", "addiction", and/or "opioids") in the title.

Patient Safety

Two of the 30 required hours must also be in the ACPE topic designator "Patient Safety." The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) defines patient safety as “The prevention of healthcare errors, and the elimination or mitigation of patient injury caused by healthcare errors (An unintended healthcare outcome caused by a defect in the delivery of care to a patient.) Healthcare errors may be errors of commission (doing the wrong thing), omission (not doing the right thing), or execution (doing the right thing incorrectly). Errors may be made by any member of the healthcare team in any healthcare setting. (definitions approved by the National Patient Safety Foundation® Board July 2003).”

Identifying patient safety CE credits: The quickest and most effective way to determine whether a CE activity counts as a patient safety CE is to look at the Universal Activity Number (UAN). Each CE activity provided by an ACPE-accredited provider of continuing education has a unique UAN, and providers are required to include this number in official program announcements. The last two numbers in the UAN are the topic designator. A UAN with 05 as the topic designator is designated as a patient safety program and will count toward the two hour renewal requirement.

Example: 0159-0000-15-009-L05-P

Immunization Update

Additionally, for those pharmacists who also have an immunization license, two of the 30 credit hours must be in this immunization area of practice.

Identifying immunization CE credits: A topic designator for immunizations was introduced on July 1, 2017. CE activities that meet this requirement and are accredited after this date will use 06 as the topic designator, in the same way 05 is the topic designator for patient safety CE activities. Activities that meet this requirement and were accredited before July 1, 2017 will have words like "immunization" and/or "vaccine" in the activity title.

Example: 0159-0000-17-009-L06-P

Act 31 - Child Abuse Reporting Requirements

Requirements for new licensees: All applicants for a new or initial PA pharmacist license are required to complete a 3-hour training program around child abuse recognition and reporting requirements.

Requirements for license renewals: Licensed PA pharmacists who need to renew their PA pharmacist license must also complete a 2-hour training program during each renewal period.

ACPE accreditation: All programs must be approved by the PA Department of Human Services and Department of State. These programs maybe accredited for ACPE credit, but do not have to be accredited for ACPE credit in order to meet renewal requirements.

Where to find approved programs: Click here for a list of courses approved by the PA Department of Human Services and Department of State. Many courses require a fee; but there is a free, three-hour, on-demand program available through the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center online at https://www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu.

Continuing Professional Development

According to the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is “the lifelong process of active participation in learning activities that assists individuals in developing and maintaining continuing competence, enhancing their professional practice, and supporting achievement of their goals.”

While research suggests traditional approaches to continuing education can be effective in both learning and practice change, research also suggests that outcomes of learning can be improved if the learning is in an area of interest or preference, related to daily practice, selected in response to identified need, interactive and hands-on, self-directed, focused on specific outcomes and objectives, and if the learning uses more than one intervention (i.e., is continuing, not opportunistic) and includes a "commitment to change." These principles and strategies are all incorporated into the CPD approach. Visit the ACPE website for more information and to access continuing education programs on CPD.

CPE Monitor

CPE Monitor is a national, collaborative effort by National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to provide an electronic system for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to track their completed continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credits. It also offers state boards of pharmacy the opportunity to electronically authenticate the CPE units completed by their licensees, rather than requiring pharmacists and technicians to submit their proof of completion statements upon request or for random audits. This initiative has streamlined processes for pharmacy practitioners to ensure they are maintaining professional competency requirements. CPE Monitor saves pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, state boards of pharmacy, and CPE providers time and money.

For more information, click here. Be sure to login to the PPA website and add your NABP e-Profile ID to your profile!

Pharmacy Technician Continuing Education

Currently there are no registration or certification requirements for pharmacy technicians in Pennsylvania. However, pharmacy technicians may, at their own option or through the encouragement of their employer, seek to become nationally certified through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). Visit PPA's Pharmacy Technician Certification page for more information on becoming certified.

Some of the ACPE continuing education courses PPA offers are applicable for technicians. This is typically noted on the program brochure. Watch for programs with the "T" at the end of the ACPE UAN (e.g. 0159-0000-10-019-H05-T).